The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Remote access appliances are used frequently in modern day data centers to interface with and establish communications links with a plurality of servers or other serial or Ethernet type devices. Traditionally this has required separate remote access appliances, one for Ethernet and one for serial. In one implementation, the assignee of the present application, Avocent Corp., may also use the Ethernet interface on the remote access appliance to receive digitized data from a digital rack interface pod (DRIP), where the DRIP is interfaced between the server and the remote access appliance. The DRIP receives analog video signals from the server, converts this information to a digital format, and then forwards the digital information in Ethernet protocol format to the appliance. The DRIP also interfaces with a USB interface on the server to allow for sending and receiving USB data between the server and the remote session enabled by the appliance. The USB traffic of data between the appliance and the DRIP is packetized and sent in the Ethernet protocol.
When using a DRIP to interface the appliance to a remote server, typically the DRIP receives power from a USB port of the server. In the event that the server loses power and shuts down, and is then powered back up a short time later, often the server will delay applying power to the designated power pins of its USB port for at least several seconds while it begins to re-boot. This means that power will not be applied to the DRIP when the server begins to re-boot. At some point during the boot-up process the server will again begin applying power to the appropriate pins of its USB port, which will then power up the DRIP again, allowing a remote user to establish a new session with the DRIP and the server.
In the event a data center person needs to troubleshoot the server, the above scenario is undesirable because the BIOS screen, which typically is generated during the first few seconds of the boot-up process, will not be captured by the DRIP. This is because the server will typically not yet have applied power to its USB port, and thus the DRIP will not yet be powered up with a session in progress with a remote user. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the ability to capture the BIOS screen, and navigate through and perform configuration of the BIOS software and its settings, is a significant advantage when it comes to remotely attempting to troubleshoot a problem with a server.